Dear Catherine
by eclatantly
Summary: It's never too late for true love.


Catherine sank to the floor and brought her knees to her chest, an action she hasn't done since she was a child.

Deep breaths. In, out.

She couldn't believe that Vincent, her Vincent, was no longer hers. He was gone.

Everything had happened in a blur and nothing has been making sense for months.

She wished for a rewrite. A way to go back in time and hold onto Vincent's hand and never let him go up with the helicopter. She swears that she'd never let his fingers slip through hers this second time, but that's all this was, wishing. She secretly blames herself for everything because if she had held on tighter then — "Stop."

* * *

Her right hand went to her tee-shirt pocket and pulled out the letter that Vincent had slipped under her door last night. She hasn't opened it yet, she couldn't bring herself to. It was crinkled from being folded and unfolded numerous times.

He was gone and she had pushed him away. Not once did she ask him to stay with or for her. Not once.

Catherine wasn't a weak person, she never was, not before or after her mother passed away. Not when her father, well, adopted father died. Or when her sister moved away. Nothing. Not even now when the man she swore she'd spend the rest of her life with has suddenly left it. But she felt weak.

* * *

She clutched herself tightly as she sat on the floor in her dark bedroom so she wouldn't fall apart. With shaky hands she finally unfolded the letter.

* * *

Dear Catherine,

You know I've never been one that was great with words but I've been holding this inside for too long and I need to get it out… you need to hear it. You have to hear it and then hopefully you'll be able to understand the things that I haven't been able to say out loud.

Last night I was trying to remember you and I couldn't. I could be blinded and draw your face from memory but I couldn't remember _you_. None of the details that were mine and mine alone to own and to cherish.

I can't remember the pattern your freckles make. I can't remember the curve of your spine under my hand or the tenderness of your fingertips on my arm.

And Catherine, the thing that haunts me the most is that I can't remember the sound of your heart beating against mine, that is what kills me. It kills me as a man to sit here and wonder if Gabe is getting to discover those parts of you for himself or worse that you're even allowing him to.

You think that I'm morning Tori's death but I'm not, not in the way that you think. I was lost for awhile, yes, but the night I saw Gabe kissing you was the night that everything changed. I needed that to help me realize that you're the only thing I can't live without. You've helped me become the person I always wanted to be.

I don't know why I'm writing this or why I gave it to you but I think somewhere deep down, I'm praying that us — what we had, that it's not over. I remember hearing as a kid that true love doesn't just die and I know that's what we had, Catherine.

I've decided that I need to move away because I can't tolerate being this near to you without being with you. This is killing me. Distance won't help me move on, nothing will, but for my sanity I need to go.

I'll be on the houseboat waiting but if I don't hear anything from you by midnight tomorrow then I'll be gone.

V

* * *

The letter slowly slipped from her fingers and onto the floor. Her tears were clouding her vision but her mind was only saying one thing 'Vincent'.

* * *

She glanced at the clock on her desk that read 11:15 PM. "I have to make it to him on time, I have to." Pushing herself up by her hands she hurriedly gathered her keys and wallet and rushed out the door.

* * *

It's amazing how suddenly one can make up their mind on something that their heart has already done years ago.

* * *

Without bothering to even knock she pushed the door open with both hands.

Deep breaths. In, out.

This was it, this was the moment that will define everything. Her future was depending on what happened now.

* * *

His eyes instantly found hers and the barest of smiles graced his face. "You came."

"I came."

He closed the space between them and teetered back and forth on his heels as he weighed the words in his mind before speaking.

"You are here but what does this mean for us? Is there an us or did you come to tell me not to let the door hit me on the way out?"

She rested her hands on his forearms, wrapping her fingers around his strong arms. "I'm here, I'm yours."

"That's all I needed to hear." His bags landed on the floor with a loud thud. "I love you, you know? I'll never stop."

"I love you. Nothing that has happened in the past matters anymore, okay? It's just us, together."

She slipped her hands behind his head and slowly brought his face to hers. "You are so beautiful." Her breathing was uneven as their lips touched.

* * *

**Fin**


End file.
